JACKSONVILLE – Maybe one, but certainly not both. Surely the Eagles would not be so bold as to allow their two starting cornerbacks to walk away, leaving a pair of young and largely unproven players as replacements.

That was the thinking of safety Brian Dawkins, who spent eight years sharing a secondary with Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor and couldn’t conceive of a Philly defense without one of them, let alone two.

So when the Eagles did not make a move in free agency to re-sign Vincent or Taylor, Dawkins took a deep breath, bit his lip and tried to rationalize that a couple of third-year corners, Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, could measure up to the high standard the Eagles had grown accustomed to.

“It was hard at first,” Dawkins said. “Physically I knew I could get the job done, but mentally not seeing [Vincent and Taylor] next to me in their lockers and not talking to them on a day-to-day basis, it was a tough thing to get through. You know the NFL is a business and people move on, but you are with them through the tough times and the good times.

“I thought it was putting a lot of confidence in those two young guys. I didn’t think they were going to be as good as they are this early. I did think there was a risk involved.”

The Eagles last night took on the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX at Alltel Stadium, a sure sign that Dawkins’ fears, however justified, did not turn into reality. Sheppard was a 2002 first-round draft pick out of Florida and Brown was a second-round pick the same year out of South Carolina. Smartly, the Eagles prepared for the departures of Vincent and Taylor by having two gifted athletes waiting in the wings. What the new duo lacked in talent and moxie they made up for with tenacity. Sheppard led the Eagles with five interceptions and was named to his first Pro Bowl, while Brown was a versatile force with two interceptions, 94 tackles (third on the team) to go along with a team-record three sacks by a cornerback.

“We came in together so it’s been like a brotherhood from day one,” Brown said. “We see how Bobby and Troy did it and how successful they were and we are just following in their footsteps. They taught us about life. They taught us how to handle our money. They also taught us if you want people to respect you then you should respect them.”

With three of the four starters in the defensive backfield headed to the Pro Bowl (Dawkins and Michael Lewis were selected at safety), the Eagles felt good about their matchup with the Patriots. Brown and Sheppard were confident they could handle the assignment. After some moments of doubt, Dawkins feels that way, as well.

“Now they are the men in charge, so I think that had given them a different level of confidence,” Dawkins said. “We just had to grow as a unit and trust in each other.”